News On French Fries and Potato Specialties from Oceania

McCain Foods has installed a new model potato peeler in Timaru, New Zealand. Timaru is the first of the company's factories in the world to use the new model.

McCain Foods Australia/New Zealand will spend up to $10 million dollars over the next two years upgrading onsite storage facilities and building a new packing line at the Smithton plant in Circular Head, Northern Tasmania.

This season, potato processor Simplot agreed to take surplus potatoes in Tasmania.

Former McCain Foods Plant in Penola (Australia) gets a new life as dairy processing facility

Western Australian potatoes will soon be available around the country with just the push of a button, as Australia's first hot chip vending machines (French Fries) are rolled out.

In South Australia, McCain has sold its former potato processing factory at Penola to a meat processor, to the dismay of some local growers.

New Zealand Potato production in 2013, at 525,000 metric tons, was marginally (5%) ahead of 2012 production. t is likely planted areas in 2014 will be similar to 2013, with production in the range of 500,000 to 550,000MT.

Simplot Australia implements SaaS Consumer Goods Sales Force solution StayinFront EdgeCG® for all its Sales Channels

About 20 food manufacturing workers at the McCain Foods New Zealand, Hastings plant are expected to lose their jobs. The plant announced to workers a proposal to reduce year-round production of TV dinners to just 10 days per year.

Potato farmers are looking to take control of the Penola Safries plant to use it for storage.

The New Zealand Seafood Processor Sealord is set to name the former managing director of McCain Foods in Australia and New Zealand - Steve Yung - as its new CEO

Prices for potato crops grown for Simplot's north-west Tasmanian factory are set to rise by AU$20 a tonne.

In Australia McCain is attempting to entice shoppers to buy their cooked potato chips in their local supermarket through the use of scented advertising panels dispensing the scent of cooked chips at the push of a button.

McCain Foods agriculture director John Jackson in Australia has admitted the company’s relationship with the region’s potato growers has been damaged in recent years.

Simplot processing potato farmers in Tasmania have accepted a $10 per tonne price cut for crops deliverable in 2014.

South Australian Potato producers have called for fair freight arrangements following the closure of McCain Foods' Penola plant.

Today’s reports that Simplot’s two vegetable processing plants at Bathurst and Devonport will remain open for at least another three years has been welcomed by peak industry body, AUSVEG.

Farmer Terry Buckley says he is sad to see the local Penola plant close, but he hopes the Ballarat plant might save the Australian potato processing industry, which is being outpriced by cheaper imports.